German of the day: Sprengung

That means blasting, the blasting or demolition of.

Another section of the Carola Bridge in Dresden collapsed during demolition work on Friday night.

It is the section of the bridge near the riverbank that had already collapsed into the Elbe on Wednesday night, according to a police spokesperson in the morning. Streetcar tracks and a cycle and footpath run over the so-called bridge span. It had collapsed over a length of around 100 meters. Two other bridge sections (A and B), including lanes for cars, are still standing.

German Of The Day: Sprengung

That means blasting.

I got your infrastructure for you right here, pal.

If all goes well, the Rahmedetalbrücke (bridge) will collapse exactly vertically on Sunday. “We don’t have a meter of space,” says blaster Michael Schneider, meaning that the bridge must not tip to the side during the blasting. This is because there are houses almost directly underneath it, which must not come to any harm.

Just Like That Japanese Reactor

Not quite as dramatic, granted, but just like how Fukushima took down the nuclear power industry in Germany, all it takes is a collapsed highway bridge in Italy to suddenly put Germany’s bridge infrastructure in full tilt crisis mode. You gotta worry about something, after all.

Bridges

The latest reminder of the risks of aging infrastructure came Tuesday, when a highway bridge in Italy collapsed, killing at least 35 people. Germany is also exposed. Its once-envied network of roads, bridges and railways are decaying due to decades of underspending. The country has fallen to 15th in road quality behind Oman and Portugal, according to the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness rankings.

Autobahnbrücken in Deutschland – Jede achte Brücke in schlechtem Zustand.